Al’s 24 Hour Auto Spa

BEWARE!!! I have visited this place several times. Twice in the last year, I have had my credit card info stolen and both times I had visited this place shortly before the fraud occurred. It may be random, but it’s the only pattern I can identify.
BEWARE #2 !!! — If you leave a bay before the time runs out, and you were reckless enough to have used a credit card (you’ve been warned!), another customer can pull in and keep adding time to the clock by pushing the little green button — all of which hits *your* credit card. I tested it two weeks ago (I owe some guy $ 1 — I promise I’ll give a homeless person $ 2 in return).
BEWARE #3 !!! — A while back I went through the automated aisle (far right), had my card charged but the machine didn’t work. I asked for a refund and was given some monopoly-​looking money that I was told would work for a future visit. Not surprisingly, it didn’t work a few weeks later. When I complained to an employee (owner?), he told me they don’t accept the funny money any more.
Their equipment seems to work consistently; the spotless rinse does work. Just don’t use your plastic to pay (and if they owe you a refund, remember: Cash is King!).

This is not some random rant. I want to make people aware that I was harassed by an employee at this car wash last week. The owner/​manager has not bothered to return my call. So maybe he’ll take responsibility if his business is affected.
The aggressor was an older man with gray hair that had a leafblower strapped to his back. A previous reviewer here on Unilocal even posted a picture of the guy because he was belligerent and abusive with them. I recognized the man from the photo. I found out from a neighboring business that the owner/​manager was named Mark. I found the business license and corporate documents online and they said the contact was someone named Chris Rodarte.
I called the business to speak to the owner and I left a message. No one bothered to return my call. I saw similar complaints here and on other sites including a complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau regarding this same individual (one complaint said his name was «Paul») dating as far back as 2014. They also stated that management never returned their call.
I’ll be taking further action, but for now BEWARE and STAY AWAY. This employee is aggressive and threatens customers; management doesn’t seem to care.

I just tried using this place and the place is dirty, old and unkempt.
I used or tried to use one of the machines, the one that you can do an RV in on the far right side. I did not see before inputting my credit card into the reader that the readout display was totally thrashed. The card reader had a no problem in charging my card for $ 10.00 when all I wanted to put in was $ 5.00 for a regular wash. Well the piece of junk wash machine and wand do not work anyway so I got neither a $ 5.00 nor a $ 10.00 wash time.
This place sucks big time. At one time it was decent but no more.

Almost perfect place to wash your car. It is convenient for your budget but you’ll find many things to wash your car perfectly and it works 24 hours. What else we might need?

As a family, we washed the car today, everything at the car wash works fine; from the tire scrubber, foam brush, to the sealer spay ect. Also vacuumed the car, and their vacuum was very strong!

This car wash is great. $ 5 for 10 – 11 minutes with credit card, which is more than enough time, or I think you can pay a little less with quarters (for less time). On Wednesdays they have a special, but I’m not sure what time it starts. I need all my quarters for laundry, so card works for me.
Definitely gets busy on the weekends. It’s open 24 hours though, so if you come on a weeknight around 9, you’ll more than likely drive right in.
If you’ve never used a self car wash before, it’s pretty straightforward. You can skip some of the wash settings, like pre-rinse…I go straight to high pressure soap (don’t stand too close with high pressure, for obvious reasons). The tire cleaner brush is good for general cleaning, but depending on your wheels, you may prefer to do some detail work in the drying stall. I rinse off with the spot free because it won’t leave water spots after drying.
BRING YOUR OWN TOWEL. Your favorite retailer that starts and ends with T has good microfiber towels in the automotive section :)

Use this place on a weekly basis. I love it.

Great self car wash long lines (weekends) but when I swiped my card once it didn’t add time swiped again didn’t add time did the third time then it added time, I was only given 5 dollars worth of time and was charged $ 15!

I’ve used the self service stalls at this place at least three time so far, and each time has resulted in a really good wash.
Here are some tips:
Go during the later afternoon hours (like after 3−4pm to make sure no one has to wait for you) and bring your own bucket, soap, and mitts /​scrubbing gear to do a spay + hand wash job yourself.
I pay twice — the first time: I wet /​rinse my car, fill my bucket with water (and my own soap), wash my tires, powerwash off the bugs and dirt, and then scrub by hand. I then do another cycle (paying a second time) to perform the spray finish, rinse off, etc. It takes more effort and you have to be mindful that other folks aren’t waiting, but I love how clean I can get my car by doing this. Yes — it cost just as much as a drive in wash but they don’t really clean very well.
If you care about your car’s finish like I do then do NOT rub the foam brush on your car’s surface — that thing is filthy since other people seem to use it on their tires. I only use it to drool soap foam all over the car (before using my own bucket solution above), and even then it oozes an alarming amount of filth on your car.
Bring quarters — otherwise they place a $ 5 hold on your card for each use which is double the displayed rate shown in the stalls.

First time doing the self car wash today and I was very happy with the results. I went on a Wednesday and it was only 1.75 there were many stalls and it wasn’t overly crowded.
I will definitely be going back to Al’s car wash.

I have been going here for over 10 years but I have never used the self wash stalls before. My car was very dirty and I didn’t think a drive through wash would take care of everything so I thought I would give one of the stalls a try. I was standing there trying to figure out what to do and one of the employees kindly came over to help me, without me having to look for anyone. He was VERY helpful in directing me what to do. It was very refreshing for me as I tend to get frazzled when I don’t know what I’m doing. He made it so easy for me to wash my car and now it looks amazing!!!

I recently visited Al’s 24 hr. Auto Spa, a self-​wash business. I quickly realized that the coin operated machine wasn’t working but not until I deposited nearly $ 8 in quarters. I ended up having to swipe my debit card, for an additional $ 5, to finish the wash & rinse. I looked at the site for a name or a number to call regarding the malfunction but couldn’t find one anywhere. So glad I looked up the number online. I left a message and had a call back from Chris just a few hours later. He mentioned he was aware of the problem, was very apologetic and has refunded my debit card. Thanks Chris, who says customer service is dead?

i wrote a review a few days ago. just wanted to let you know, chris called me immediately and sent me a refund. so i want to revise my review. thanks

I used my credit card and it charged $ 5 for the wash. Next time I’ll bring cash ($ 2.25) per wash.
GAVE my car a GREAT wash!

Best place to get your car cleaned. Best Value at least because you can do it yourself until your satisfied and pay a fraction of what you would pay to have your car detailed by someone else. Love it.

Great Place to wash your car friendly people place is always clean.

This is a 24 hour do it yourself carwash. They even have a bay for trucks so you can spray the roof.
There’s 4 regular car bays, 1 truck bay, and one automatic touchless wash. I wouldn’t recommend the automatic wash because I’ve been through it and it didn’t really get rid of anything. Plus it leaves soap sometimes.
The regular do it yourself machines are typically fine, but they take a little long to cycle through (like when changing from clear coat to spot free rinse). The foam brushes may leak.
The machines are all coin operated only (with the exception of the automatic car wash, it takes credit card and bills), and there are some change machines that dispense dollar coins and quarters.
Beware: the vacuums have metal nozzles that can scratch your vinyl. They have good suction.
Note: Coming here at night can be pretty scary, since it is a mainly industrial area. Bring a friend. Also, not lit well enough to vacuum at night.

Been going here for years. If you use the bays, they’re $ 2.25 for 4 minutes. Two change machines are available that dispense quarters and dollar coins. On Wednesdays, the bays are $ 1.75 from 8 – 8. At your disposal are a standard nozzle, foaming brush, and a semi-​decent wheel and tire cleaner. Good luck utilizing all of them within that 4 minute time span.
Don’t waste your time with the automated wash; it’s not worth your money for what you get (unless you’re lazy). When it was still $ 4, I would’ve called it a bargain. Sometimes the drying process fails miserably, leaving water droplets all over the place and requiring you to get out of your car with a rag.
It can get very busy during daylight hours; go late at night and you will practically have the place to yourself.

Open 24 hours and pricing is reasonable, but their machines take COINS only… that’s read Quarters, none of this token crap. They do have a change machine that takes $ 1, $ 5 bills; it dispenses $ 1 coins sometimes…
There are only a few (I think 5 – 6) wash bays, and things can get busy during the day, however when I go late at night, there are maybe at most 2 other people washing their cars; you can take your time.
This car wash seems to be old as their spray machines take a while to cycle different wash modes; but they work most the time so no real complaints.
It is a bit of a drive from where I live in Irvine… but I still prefer this place than the only other self-​serve wash that I know in Tustin…